77% of corporate networks carry KaZaA-type P2P software

This may leave companies exposed to litigation if the network is used to unlawfully share copyrighted material – whether it's software, music or movies.

The study, carried out by Canadian AssetMetrix Research Labs, shows a staggering incidence of P2P activity in enterprises. The study included over 175,000 PCs from over 560 corporations from a broad cross-section of industry sectors.

The results show that around 77% of all corporations surveyed had P2P applications on their networks. Some of these companies had P2P applications on as many as 58% of their PCs. Furthermore, no company with over 500 PCs was "P2P free". According to the survey, the average P2P finding was between 2.15% and 8.38% per company.

The implications for companies are serious.

"In the wake of recent announcements by the Recording Industry Association of America [RIAA], the issue of file-sharing applications is becoming a prime concern for corporations," said Paul Bodnoff, president of AssetMetrix.

In April last year the RIAA announced a settlement with a US company, Integrated Information Systems, which had allegedly permitted its employees to download copyrighted music. The settlement figure was $1 million.

In a recent research note issued by technology analysts Gartner, the firm highlighted the need for companies to take action to prevent the use of their networks for unauthorised P2P purposes.

Gartner recommended that companies amend their policies to include a specific ban on file sharing on the corporate network. They should also improve security measures in order to identify and deal with file sharing, and thoroughly document the steps that are taken.

The Gartner research note is available here